A river boat captain can be a term used for any person in charge of a river boat
whether that boat is carrying passengers of freight.
The river boat captain determines the course and speed of the boat, based on
weather, winds, tides, and the current of the river. The captain steers the
boat and is in charge of the crew. The captain is the only representative of
the ship's owner on the boat. The captain must know how to use buoys and
light houses to navigate safely.
The captain inspects the boat to make sure the passengers and crew follow the
rules of safe operating of the boat. The captain is in charge of the safety
of the passengers, crew, cargo, and the ship.
The captain must be licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard. Depending on what the
water-way the captain plans to operate on, the licensing will be for either
steam or motor river boat. A person would need different qualifications for
different places that they wanted to work for. Government agencies have
different qualifications than other river boat companies. A person wanting to
be a river boat captain would have to be knowledgeable on subjects related to
the river, current, buoys, tides, locks, and dams. A river boat captain earns
around 25,000 dollars per year.